How To Pay For Emergency Home Repairs

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How To Pay For Emergency Home Repairs

If you’re a homeowner and you haven’t run into an emergency repair yet, just wait. In fact, how old is your water heater? Did you know they break down every ten years or so, which leaves you with nothing but a freezing cold shower?

Emergency home repairs happen at the worst of times and while a water heater may only set you back by a few hundred dollars, things like burst pipes and new roofing can really drain your savings. So, how can you pay for these unfortunate events?

HELOC

HELOC stands for home equity line of credit, which allows you to tap into the value of your home as you need it. It comes in handy when you need to call someone like Plumbing Fix after you find that your bathroom has flooded from a broken pipe. Just remember that his loan uses your home as collateral, so spend that money wisely and make sure you pay it back on time.

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Homeowners Insurance

Your insurance policy may cover an emergency home repair, which can really come in handy. If you need a new roof, then you might be surprised to find that some of it, if not all of it, is covered as long as the damage was the result of bad weather. Always check your policy to see if your specific event is covered, that’s what it’s there for!

Community Development Programs

Your municipality may offer a program hosted by the state or local government. Many often issue grants through HUD to offer emergency repair money to local homeowners. While these may not be available in your area, it is always a good idea to find out online.

An Emergency Repair Service

Sites like www.restorationelite.com offer help when emergencies strike by sending out a trained professional to immediately take care of the situation. They usually have different departments for water and fire damage, mold removal, or other emergency services. They can help you out in a pinch, and often cost less than the price of self-employed professional.

Credit Card

While this might have been your first instinct, it should be your last resort. Your available credit may not even be enough to get the job done, but even if it can then you still have to deal with high interest rates. Putting yourself in debt for home repairs is a slippery slope that leaves all too many in a worse financial situation than they ever imagined being in.

Cash-Out Refinance

Last, and absolutely least, you can consider refinancing. This should be your last ditch effort and only used in the most dire of circumstances. Like HELOC, you’ll be using you home as collateral but instead of receiving a loan you will be refinancing a new mortgage.

This mortgage is going to be more than what you owe on your current one and the interest will be higher, too. Plus, it might take longer than you want to find a good rate. There’s no sense in refinancing if you have a problem that needs taken care of in 24 hours.